Eternal Courtship
by Captain LeBubbles
Summary: A series of loosely-connected one-shots chronicling  the friendship, professional relationship, and occasional courtship of Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall.
1. Winter

**Explanation of sorts: **I've got a Creative Writing class coming up in mid-October, and I'm trying to get back into the hang of writing again before then. I found a list of prompts on my computer (I have a habit of saving prompt lists to my files for the occasion that I find myself short on ideas) and decided to have a go at a series of fic regaling the eternal courtship of Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall. Here's the first one! It's unbeta'ed, so if you spot something I've botched up, feel free to let me know.

**Eternal Courtship**

**Prompt 1:** Winter

**Pairing(s)**: Hagrid/McGonagall (friendship)

**Notes:** The background about Hagrid's father was taken from the fic Hogwarts 194o, because I liked the idea and wanted to keep it.

**Additional Notes**: This is really more of a mood piece, painting a scene more than something that has an actual plot. Hope that doesn't put you off. For the first few I'm mostly just trying to build up their friendship for when they're reunited as colleagues later.

**Blanket Disclaimer: **I never understood why these were so necessary, but anywho, Harry Potter is the property of an obscenely rich British lady, and that isn't me.

**(o/o/o)**

It's a beautiful day, early January, just before the new term at school starts. Because of the war, many students had remained at school over winter break. Minerva is one of them; her mother felt that Hogwarts was much safer for her than was their home. Hagrid is still at the school too, but his reasons are different- he simply has nowhere else to go. His father had been killed in the war some few months back, and he has no other family, at least, none that are willing to take in their relative's half-breed son.

The two are walking across the grounds in silence. Professor Dumbledore had asked Minerva to keep an eye on Hagrid after word of his father reached them, and she had taken the duty of comforting him to heart. At first, it was simply because she felt obligated, as a prefect, but now she's come to admire the boy. He has a kind heart, and despite his great size, can be very gentle.

They've taken many of these walks in the past. Few words are spoken; Hagrid is usually lost in his own thoughts and Minerva is not talkative by nature.

Their breath forms clouds which hang in front of their faces and their cheeks are red from the cold. The snow crunches under their feet with every step they take.

Out on the lake, they can see patches of ice where the water has frozen. Minerva has heard that there are merfolk living at the bottom of the lake and she wonders idly how they're getting on in the cold.

The snowfall picks up a bit and Minerva pulls her cloak tighter around her, thinking of the Gryffindor common room, with it's warm fires and comfortable armchairs. She looks up, startled, when a heavy coat is dropped around her shoulders, and Hagrid smiles sheepishly at her.

"You looked cold," he says.

"Won't you be cold now?" He's only wearing his robes, and they're not exactly thick enough to block out the icy winds pushing at them.

"Nah. I've got thick skin. Cold doesn't bother me so much."

The coat is warm, and envelopes her almost completely. She wraps it around her gratefully and the silence returns as they make their way back to the castle.

Despite his claims, he's shivering by the time they return to their common room. She comandeers two armchairs near the fire and prepares a mug of cocoa for each of them. The cocoa is warm and the fire is hot and the cold melts away soon in the light of that.

The sun sets outside, casting a pleasant glow in the tower until it finally drops below the horizon. Darkness settles in, broken only by the glow of a few candles and the fire. One by one, the other students in the common room get up and make their way up to their dorms, until they're the only two left.

Minerva knows that they should be heading to bed soon, but she it's nice, sitting here with Hagrid in the warm glow of the fire. She decides to wait a bit.

She's nothing going on tomorrow, no reason to get up early. It won't hurt to stay up just a little longer.

**(o/o/o)**

As an last minute footnote: I have no idea where I initially got the list of prompts, so if you recognize them, please inform me so I can give credit where credit is due.


	2. It's Our Song

**Eternal Courtship**

**Prompt 91**: It's Our Song

**Pairing(s):** Hagrid/McGonagall, mentions of McGonagall/Urquart, Hagrid/Maxim and McGonagall/one-off OC

**Notes:** These one-shots do not take place in any particular order; I'm writing them as I come up with them so the time period will vary wildly. (Quality will also vary. Sorry about that.)

**Additional Notes**: There's a one-off student called Godwin who is slated to cameo in another fic. I wonder if they're related?

**Disclaimer:** "The Lamplighter's Serenade" is a Sinatra song that came out in 1942. I don't know if it would have been popular in the magical world, but we're going to assume for the sake of this fic that Sinatra was good enough to transcend magical boundaries.

**(o/o/o)**

Hagrid shuffles his feet nervously and twists his hat in his hands. His face is red and he's not looking directly at her while he talks.

"Anyway, Minerva, I was wonderin', if maybe you'd want to go with me to the Winter Ball?"

"Oh, Hagrid," she says quietly. His face falls. He can hear the rejection in her voice. He turns to walk away, but she stops him. "I would, but I already agreed to go with Ector Godwin. I'm so sorry." She sounds sorry. He shrugs it off.

"Heh? Oh, it's fine. Don' worry about it. I only thought... I mean I'm just a third year, and all, so I can't go unless it's with an upperclassman. I jus' thought, maybe it'd be kinda fun."

She places a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sure you'll find someone to go with. And if you do, promise you'll save me a dance?"

He risks a look at her, his face turning even redder. "O' course. I'll always save you a dance, Minerva, yeh jus' have ta ask."

**(o/o/o)**

Ector is getting them drinks when the enormous third year comes up and taps Minerva on the shoulder. He frowns sourly when she actually smiles at the boy and holds out her hand for him.

"Ector, I'm going to go dance with Hagrid," she informs him lightly, more as a courtesy than asking if he minds.

He shrugs, trying to look nonchalant. It's not like he can stop her, and it's not like Hagrid is the first person to ask for a dance with her tonight, and everyone knows the two are close. Still, it for some reason rankles him to see her dancing with him. It's probably because Hagrid is the first person she's danced with out of more than a desire to be polite.

Ector glares at his drink sourly. He'd wanted to spend the evening persuading Minerva to go steady with him and so far he's only danced with her a few times. And now she's off smiling at that third year instead of him!

On stage, the live entertainment hired by Professor Dippet switches to a slow song, one from Sinatra. Hagrid feels a little embarrassed to have Minerva so close, but she smiles reassuringly at him. Her smile does little to help; in fact, all it really accomplishes is to set a flock of butterflies loose in his stomach.

The song is over far too soon, and, conversely, not soon enough. Hagrid hurries off to find the girl he'd come with, stammering out a thank you for the dance as he does.

"He's rather taken with you, you know," Ector says, reclaiming her for a dance of his own. He feels a little smug when she willingly slips her arms around his neck, bringing them closer. She hadn't danced so close to the boy, had she?

"Hagrid's just a friend," she says quietly. "A dear friend, but nothing more."

**(o/o/o)**

The ball is drawing to a close. The students have been trickling off back to their dorms (and to other students' dorms, when they can get around the chaperones) for the past hour or so, until there are only a few stragglers left. The band has taken to playing slower songs, giving the remaining lovers a treat. Even many of the teachers have returned to their rooms, leaving just the heads of houses and one or two others to watch the students.

The band pauses, and Minerva uses the opportunity to speak with the band leader. He has a hurried conversation with his band mates, who all nod agreeably, and he gives her a winning smile to confirm her request.

Hagrid is considering whether he wants another drink enough to go get it when McGonagall steps over to him and holds out her hand.

"You owe me a dance," she says lightly, as the band plays the familiar opening chords of The Lamplighter's Serenade. He takes her proffered hand in his and lets her lead him onto the dance floor, his thirst forgotten.

**(o/o/o)**

Weddings are supposed to be the happiest day of a bride's life. While she wouldn't say happiest, she'd certainly place it somewhere in the top five. The lawn has been beautifully adorned for the reception, and their friends and colleagues dance and mingle and sample the delicious wedding feast all around them.

Minerva and Elphinstone have retreated to their seats when Hagrid comes over to them.

"'Lo, Elphinstone," he greets before turning to Minerva. "Would you mind if I borrowed you for a dance, Professor?"

"Of course, Hagrid." She takes his hand. "I'll be back in a few minutes, darling," she adds, for her groom's sake. "Think you can manage without me?"

Elphinstone, for his part, smiles. "Spect I'll be all right," he teases. "Have fun."

He'd considered, briefly, getting the band to play song, but had turned down the idea. It wouldn't be appropriate, not on her wedding day.

"I can' believe you're actually married," he says, while he leads her to some song neither of them really recognize. "How does it feel to be Mrs. Elphinstone Urquart?"

"Mostly the same as it felt to be Miss Minerva McGonagall," she says, "but with an extra, giddy feeling in my chest that keeps trying to bubble out."

She's looks so happy, so content and in love. A tiny piece of his heart breaks off and shatters. He wishes he'd said something to her. Would it have made a difference? He doesn't know, and now he never will.

"Well jus' remember, if he ever hurts yeh, I'll be glad to push his face through a wall for yeh," he says. He doesn't believe for a minute that he'll ever need to. Elphinstone is a good man. He'd never hurt her. But, Minerva is something special and he wants her to know that. "Make sure he remembers that too."

"You're sweet, Hagrid," she says. "But if Elphinstone ever needs his face put through a wall, I'll certainly have no trouble doing it myself."

The song is beginning to draw to a close. He wishes it wouldn't. He has the distinct feeling that this is their last dance for quite some time and he wants to draw it out as long as he can.

**(o/o/o)**

Minerva is waltzing with Dumbledore when she sees Hagrid guide Madam Maxim outside. Well, good for him. Olympe is a lovely woman. They'll do well together.

"Are you not planning to claim your dance with Hagrid tonight?" Dumbledore asks, guessing the train of her thoughts; it isn't hard, given she's looking directly at them.

"I rather think he wouldn't appreciate the intrusion."

Dumbledore gets a rather knowing smile on his face. "I daresay Hagrid would make an exception for you. After all, you _do_ have a long-standing arrangement."

"I can spare one dance if it means giving Hagrid the chance to be happy," she says shortly, her tone making it clear that she wants to hear no more about the subject. Dumbledore gets the hint and obediently switches to a different topic.

**(o/o/o)**

The celebration carries on into the morning. Before nightfall, they'll have to come back to reality. They'll have to take care of the victims of the battle, send word to the families and begin cleaning up the grounds. Right now, though... right now they're just celebrating. The nightmare is over. Reality can wait a few hours.

Someone had found an old record player buried in one of the storage rooms and dug it out, prompting many of the older teachers to produce records from among their own stores. They don't have anything newer than the sixties, but it's music, and music is good for celebrating.

The current record comes to a halt and someone switches it with the next one in the stack without paying attention. The familiar first notes of their song start up, leading some of the dancing couples to sway together closely, clinging to each other as though they can't quite believe they're alive.

McGonagall, deep in conversation with Professor Flitwick, excuses herself to find Hagrid. She spots him near a window, staring out over the grounds.

"Can' believe it's really over," he says blankly. "It's really over this time?"

"I certainly hope so. It does seem so."

"Seemed so before, too. But he wasn't gone then, was he? Jus' bidin' his time. What if he's not really gone, like before? What if he's just waitin' for the right moment?"

She sighs wearily. "Hagrid, I have lost a great deal of people who were important to me tonight. So have you. Tomorrow we will have to deal with all of these questions, but right now.. right now, you owe me a dance."

"Don' know if I really feel like dancin'," he says honestly.

She holds out her hand. "You made a promise, remember? I only have to ask..."

He takes her hand reluctantly, but as he pulls her into his arms the by-now-familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach returns, and he feels a little better.

Reality doesn't matter right now. The war doesn't matter right now. All that matters right now is Minerva in his arms, and the sun that is just beginning to rise in the distance, and the soft strains of The Lamplighter's Serenade drifting from an ancient record player.

**(o/o/o)**

(I officially hate writing Hagrid's dialect. Sheesh.)


	3. Falling in Love

This should have been posted Friday, but my weekend was so busy I only just got to cleaning it tonight. Bah.

**Eternal Courtship**

**Prompt 37:** Falling in Love

**Pairing(s):** Hagrid/McGonagall

**Notes:** I was actually very pleased when I started writing this to realize it meant I got to write sort-of write Ogg.

**Additional Notes:** There is a companion piece to this that is currently being written, but didn't tie in with the narrative style enough for me to be comfortable including it in the same chapter.

**(o/o/o)**

Falling in love, Hagrid mused to himself, was rather like diving headfirst into the lake on a particularly stormy night- there was no way of knowing how far you'd sink, and at any moment you could be attacked by a giant squid.

So maybe it wasn't a perfect metaphor (simile?) but it certainly did convey the feeling of intense fear that he'd felt for the past four days, since he'd realized that his feelings for one Minerva McGonagall were far less honorable than he'd always assumed.

And, and it wasn't like he'd never been attracted to her before; his last two years of school and his first year as assistant groundskeeper had been spent wishing he were just a few years older because as it was, he was pretty sure she'd been lumping him in with her brothers in her mind. But that had been ages ago, when they were at school together. He'd thought he'd gotten over her in the time that she'd been away; he'd thought he'd _grown up_, grown past a silly little crush.

Until she came back. Until she'd waltzed back into Hogwarts every bit as proud and dignified as when she left, every bit as clever, every bit as beautiful, and those damned butterflies that haunted him for three years had waltzed back with her.

And Hagrid? He was hiding, doing his best not to cross her path. He couldn't hide forever, of course, and he knew that sooner or later she would seek him out, hoping to reunite with her old friend. But he knew that she was, or had been at the time, wary of the forest, so he'd been spending as much time there as possible. Already she'd been round to see him twice, Ogg had told him, but each time had been unable to wait for his return and he'd missed her.

If nothing else, the new term would be starting day after tomorrow, and he'd see her at the feast. He wouldn't be able to avoid her then, he knew; their seats weren't likely to be near each other at the staff table, but she'd find some way to confront him. Hopefully she'd believe that he'd just been very busy and not avoiding her, but she was Minerva, she was the smartest person he'd ever met, except maybe Dumbledore, of course she would know he was avoiding her. Hopefully she just wouldn't figure out why.

When he returned to the hut sometime just after sunset, he was informed by a slyly smiling Ogg that he had, once again, missed seeing her. He tried not to look relieved, but he'd been working with Ogg for so long that he knew the older man wasn't fooled. Thankfully, Ogg said nothing, and the two sat down for dinner with the topic pushed out of their mind.

Hagrid managed to avoid Minerva for two days after that, and sometime between when he took several butchered pigs down to the kitchen for the upcoming feast and when he went to fetch the boats that would take the first years across the lake he realized that with the year starting, both of them would be so busy she would have less time to seek him out. If he could just get through the Start of Term Feast that night without her cornering him, he might only see her in passing and this silly... whatever he was feeling... would go away.

One of Hagrid's favorite duties as Assistant Groundskeeper was taking the first years across the Lake, a duty Ogg had gleefully handed him some four years prior. Ogg had been happy to give up the cold trips in any weather imaginable, but Hagrid liked the feeling that he was playing a small part of the students' futures, giving them their first view of the school that would shape so much of their lives.

The weather this year was calm, which made the trip fairly uneventful. One particularly excitable boy nearly overturned his boat when he spotted the giant squid, but when they made it to the opposite shore everyone was dry, and Hagrid always counted that as a success.

He gave the group- rather larger lot than usual this year; Hogwarts was getting the first wave of the flood of so-called Baby Boomers that would come through Hogwarts for the next several years- a moment to compose themselves into a slightly neater cluster before giving the door three booming knocks. It swung open, and Hagrid's mouth went dry when he realized who was standing there to collect the students.

"G-" he faltered, swallowed hard, and tried again. "Got the firs' years for sortin', M- Professor."

She gave him a withering look that passed right over the students' heads and made it perfectly clear that she was angry with him, then led the group away to be sorted. Hagrid watched her leave, feeling rather stunned, and finally turned to sag against the door-frame. Seeing her again in person, finally, had made the full force of his feelings hit him head on.

Falling in love, he decided, was a bit like taking on one of Aragog's brood in a bad mood- the hit could come from anywhere, and was probably going to be venomous.

Minerva was seated nowhere near Hagrid at the Feast; she sat to Dumbledore's right, at the very center of the table, whereas Hagrid was at the very end, where his size would cause no problems in getting to and from his seat in a hurry if need be. This gave them no opportunity to speak, though he was certain she wouldn't be willing to speak to him right now anyway, and when the feast was over and the students heading to their dorms, he slipped out as quickly as he could.

About halfway across the grounds to the hut he realized there was a cat following him, practically underfoot, though darting between his steps expertly enough to avoid being stepped on. He didn't recognize the cat as one of the ground's permanent residents, so he assumed that it must belong to one of the new students and tried to shoo it away. It gave him a reproachful glare, but continued to shadow him.

"Shoo! Go on, get!" The cat had hopped up onto the windowsill when he reached the hut and watched him while he moved around the room. "I'll sic Brutus on yeh'," he said, indicating the two-month-old boar hound snoozing near the fireplace. Upon hearing his name, Brutus lifted his head, but when it became apparent that his presence was not requested, he yawned and went back to sleep. The cat looked at Brutus, then back at Hagrid as though to say 'And this scares me... why?' Hagrid shook his head, clearly irritated. "All right, fine, stay there all night for all I care."

He turned and bustled about, getting ready for bed. He was just about to change into his nightshirt when the cat on his windowsill meowed loudly. He turned to tell it to shush just in time to see it transform into Minerva McGonagall.

"Rubeus Hagrid," she said accusingly, "you've been _avoiding me_."

He opened his mouth several times, trying to decide on some reaction to having a cat transform into his friend, and finally settled on ignoring that completely in favor of giving her a stubborn look.

"I have not. I've been busy."

"Three times I've been to see you, and every time Ogg tells me you're out and not due back for awhile."

"Ogg's gettin' on in years. I've had to take over a lot of his more strenuous duties. It's a lot o' hard work, bein' groundskeeper."

"You shouldn't lie, Hagrid, it's unbecoming. You've been avoiding me."

"I'm not... I haven'..." He trailed off, and the two lapsed into uncomfortable silence, which he finally broke by saying, very quietly, "I missed you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it." He was not forgiven, but her glare did soften a fraction. "I missed you too."

Wordlessly, he opened his arms; she stepped gratefully into his embrace, and he stalwartly ignored the butterflies trying to escape his stomach.

Falling in love, he decided, was rather like skydiving into a northern mountain range- if the fall didn't kill you, the giant colony you landed among at the bottom definitely would.


	4. Sunrise

**Eternal Courtship**

**Prompt #97:** Sunrise

**Pairing(s):** Hagrid/McGonagall

**Notes:** Still early years on her being a teacher.

**Additional Notes:** I kinda hate this one, actually. It started out so well, but then I couldn't make it end properly so I had to just force an ending note. Oh well.

**(o/o/o)**

He wanted to do something stupid and romantic. He'd considered climbing up to her room, but immediately shot that idea down on the grounds that he couldn't climb walls. Instead, he got a handful of pebbles from the lake shore and tossed them, one at a time, at her window, until he finally got her attention. She threw the window open and glared down at him.

"Hagrid!" she hissed angrily. "What are you doing?"

He gestured to the basket he'd brought with him. "I thought maybe yeh'd want to go on a picnic with me."

"A picnic? ! Hagrid, it's _the middle of the night_."

"Yeah! I know! I though' maybe we could have a moonlight picnic. Come on, Minerva, it'll be fun!"

He gave her a pleading look. She considered the idea; actually, a late picnic did sound fun. On the other hand, she had classes to teach in the morning, and if she went with Hagrid, she'd certainly be late getting to bed and be sleepy the next day. She wavered between the two for a moment before finally deciding to go along.

"All right, all right, I'm coming down." She disappeared and reappeared a moment later at her lower window. She hopped up onto the windowsill and swung her legs over. "Don't drop me," she added.

Her bedroom was on the third floor, but her office below that was on the second and from there she had only to fall a few feet to Hagrid's outstretched arms. He set her down gently and picked up the basket, holding out his other arm for her to take.

"Shall we, then?" he said, and the two strolled off across the grounds, picking their way carefully in the dark.

They picked a spot near the forest, just out of sight of the castle, and Hagrid set about spreading out the blanket and putting out the food he'd brought along (which seemed to have been prepared by the House Elves, thankfully).

It was a beautiful late-summer night. A light breeze skittered across the grounds, ruffling her hair and the edges of the blanket and causing her to wrap her dressing gown more tightly around her.

They ate slowly, carrying on whispered conversations and feeling a bit like naughty children, though really, there was nothing in the rules about them being out there that late. Overhead, bats winged in wide circles, catching bugs as they chirruped to each other to avoid crashing. In the forest, an owl hooted softly and they could make out the occasional calls of other forest natives in the distance.

When they'd finally finished eating, they lay back in the damp, dewy grass and stared up at the sky. The night was clear and the sky above was awash with stars; a quarter moon glittered near the horizon. Only a few of the lights in the castle were still on, casting a dark silhouette against a backdrop of the night sky.

How long they lay there, they didn't know. They felt a gentle contentment fall over them, and they drifted into silence, unwilling to ruin the still calm of the night.

Gradually, Minerva became aware of the tinge of pink peeking up over the horizon. She sat up; Hagrid followed suit. The sun was beginning to rise over the edge of the forest, casting an eery light over everything. As the sun climbed higher, the grounds were bathed in a bright golden glow.

"Oh my..." Minerva said quietly. "It's beautiful..."

"Yeah..." He shuffled sheepishly. "I though' yeh'd like it. See it every day almost, when I'm off tendin' the grounds, an' I jus', I wanted yeh to see it too."

"I can't remember the last time I saw something so amazing," she admitted, staring out across the grounds.

"I can," Hagrid said quietly, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

She turned to look at him quizzically, and was startled to find he was staring at her. She blinked several times, startled. "Hagrid..."

A blush was creeping over his face. "Yeh weren' supposed to hear that," he admitted.

"I'm glad I did." She stood up on her tiptoes- even then he had to stoop a little so she could reach- and kissed his cheek gently. "You're sweet, Hagrid."

He was turning so red that his face resembled a very hairy tomato. She looped her arm through his.

"Let's go back," she said gently. "If I hurry, I can get an hour of sleep in before I must wake up."

He walked her all the way back to her chambers. There was much shuffling of feet when they made it to her door.

"So, er, I guess I'll be sayin' good night, or, good morning, I guess." He turned crimson again, and leaned down to kiss her quickly. "Good morning."

He left immediately, before she could react. She was still standing there several minutes later, when Sir Nicholas drifted through a nearby wall. He eyed her curiously, standing in the middle of the corridor in her dressing gown with her hand brought to her lips, where the ghost of his touch still remained.

"Minerva?" he asked kindly. "Is everything all right?"

"What?" She looked startled; she obviously hadn't realized he was there. "Yes, of course. I'm fine. I... must be going now."

She abandoned her dressing gown near the door and crawled back into the bed she'd abandoned hours before, the morning playing through her mind. Had Hagrid really kissed her, or had she imagined it? She pulled the covers up around her ears.

One thing was certain, sleep deprivation would be the least of her distractions in class that day.

**(o/o/o)**

**Last-minute footnote**: I guess technically that was their first kiss? I actually had already planned out their first kiss, but I guess they disagreed with my plan. Oh well. The second one will be much more memorable.

(Also, I'm not one to ask for reviews, but seriously you guys, one or two would be nice, just to let me know I'm not just writing this for myself.)


	5. Dangerous

Because it's been mentioned, I feel I should point out: I'm writing these as I think of them, and they're not told in any particular order (nor, in fact, are they a single story; that's why the summary calls them a collection of loosely-connected one-shots or whatever) so sometimes a chapter with an established relationship may follow one where they aren't established. Sorry for any confusion.**  
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**Eternal Courtship**

**Prompt #76:** Dangerous

**Pairing(s):** Hagrid/McGonagall (established)

**Notes**: See? Told you I hadn't forgot it. Tch. Takes place just before the series proper, within one year.

**Additional Notes**: As of chapter 3, because I'm an idiot and forgot to check my dates, this universe is officially slightly off from canon; the only difference is that in this one, McGonagall began teaching in September, not December.

**(o/o/o)**

Minerva approached Hagrid's hut to the sound of loud barking, and was nearly knocked over by a very enthusiastic boarhound licking her ears. Barely a moment later, Hagrid came round the side of the house after him.

"All right, all right," he said, sounding slightly exasperated. "Down, Fang. Get _down_, yeh dozy dog!" He managed to wrestle the enthusiastic dog away from Minerva and handed her a handkerchief to dry her ears. "Sorry 'bout him," he said sheepishly. "He does that."

"It's all right," she reassured. "They do say familiars take on aspects of their masters' personalities. I'll have to take it as a compliment."

"Yer sayin' I want to lick your ears every time I see yeh?"

"I'm saying you probably would if you thought you could get away with it. Well good sir," she said, handing him back his now-damp handkerchief with a playful flourish, "what reward will you demand for rescuing a lady from such a vicious beast?"

They both glanced at Fang. He was staring cross-eyed at a butterfly that had landed on his nose. Vicious beast, indeed.

"I dunno. Got any peanuts?"

To actually snort would have been undignified, but she managed to convey the sentiment regardless. The stern look he received came nowhere near meeting her eyes.

"I'm afraid I haven't."

"Ar, well, didn' suppose you would. How 'bout a kiss instead?"

"A kiss I can do."

She beckoned him to lean down (even then, she still had to stand on tip-toes) so that she could give him a single, chaste kiss.

"Kinda pitiful," he said, when she pulled away. He had a slightly roguish look in his eyes. "Was that really enough to count as a reward? He is pretty vicious, yeh know."

They both glanced at Fang again, who, as if trying to prove he was indeed vicious, snapped at the butterfly.

"Oh, come here."

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a much more appreciative kiss. After a second his arms came up around her, and he returned her kiss with enthusiasm.


End file.
